Isle Royale Heritage Alliance formed to scale up historic preservation

For decades, dedicated volunteers have contributed to preservation projects throughout Isle Royale National Park.

The newly formed Isle Royale Heritage Alliance builds on that foundation by creating a coordinated planning and funding framework to scale up preservation activities. This enhanced coordination ensures a more efficient, prioritized system while reducing the volunteer management and administrative burden on park staff.

“With our national parks facing budget cuts and many historic structures falling into disrepair, it is a particularly vital time to maximize resource efficiency and effectively engage volunteers,” said Tom Irvine, executive director of the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation. “The volunteers involved in the Isle Royale Heritage Alliance bring an enormous amount of knowledge and passion to this critical work.”

What’s happening: The Isle Royale Heritage Alliance has been officially founded to advance the coordinated protection, improvement, and restoration of Isle Royale National Park’s historic structures. According to the National Park Service, this includes safeguarding roughly 90 cabins, 19 fishery buildings, and four lighthouses.

About the Alliance: The Alliance is powered by volunteers and coordinated by the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation (NPLSF), the designated nonprofit partner for Lake Superior’s five national parks. The initiative will engage long-term volunteers—including descendant families—while creating new opportunities for technical experts, students, and supporters to participate in the stewardship of the park’s historic and cultural resources.

“The Cultural Resources Management Plan and Wilderness Stewardship Plan for the park include a firm commitment to a partnership for historic preservation work,” added Isle Royale National Park Superintendent Denice Swanke. “With the launch of the Isle Royale Heritage Alliance, a formal partnership is now in place to create and implement a shared vision for historic preservation work in the park.”

How it works: Led by volunteer director Jan Reyers, the partnership bridges the gap between passionate volunteers and critical park needs. The initiative leverages volunteer knowledge and expertise to establish a structured approach to historic preservation, creating vital resource efficiencies that prevent these irreplaceable cultural assets from falling into disrepair amidst federal budget constraints.

About the Director: Jan Reyers, a retired global business executive, preservation advocate, and lifelong Lake Superior enthusiast, played a key role in creating the Alliance. During his 35-year career with 3M, Reyers held senior leadership positions across North America, Europe, and Asia, specializing in organizational development, strategic planning, and cross-cultural stakeholder management. He recently supported restoration efforts at Isle Royale’s historic Rock of Ages Lighthouse as a board member, volunteer boat operator, and project participant, which inspired his vision for a more coordinated island-wide preservation system.

Work in progress: Volunteers in Parks (VIPs) are already executing priority projects on Isle Royale, including:

• Removing debris and unused items from camp and cabin sites.
• Completing mandatory structural fire checklist assessments at each historic site.
• Conducting required annual condition assessments for all historic properties.

Funding: A recent grant from the National Park Foundation will directly contribute to the success of this effort. The funding will support NPLSF and its partners in expanding and replicating this coordinated volunteer model across Lake Superior’s other national parks.

About Isle Royale: Located in the northwestern corner of Lake Superior, Isle Royale is Michigan’s only national park. The park consists of one large island and an archipelago of some 450 smaller islands.

About the Foundation: The National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation (NPLSF) provides financial support for projects and programs that preserve the natural resources and cultural heritage of the five Lake Superior national parks: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Grand Portage National Monument, Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw National Historical Park, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.